This easy baked gnocchi al forno with nduja is the ultimate Italian comfort food. A rich and spicy tomato sauce loaded with potato gnocchi, mozzarella cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, all baked until bubbling and gooey. This is by far the easiest weeknight dinner recipe that'll make your family ask for more. The good things is that can be served all year long, as all the ingredients in this recipe are always available.
If you are looking for a meat version of gnocchi al forno, try my rigatoni al forno. A Rich creamy rigatoni pasta loaded with a spicy sausage tomato sauce, béchamel, mozzarella cheese all baked until crispy.
If you love gnocchi try my ragu gnocchi with beef and mushrooms. It features a rich, comfort, and earthy beef tomato sauce. It's the perfect dish to serve for a romantic date night, or when you want to serve something special.
Apart from gnocchi, I have a collections of classic Italian pasta recipes that are just as delicious. My tagliatelle al ragu recipe aka authentic bolognese meat sauce, is perfect for a weekend lunch or dinner. For a quick and fresh dinner, try my one pot pasta with ricotta and lemon, my pasta with roasted cherry tomatoes and pesto. To finish serve my pasta alla crudaiola with spaghetti, made with fresh no-cook sauce.
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What is gnocchi al forno?
Gnocchi al forno, also know as baked gnocchi, is a classic Italian comfort food. It's made with potatoes gnocchi baked in a rich homemade tomatoes sauce with gooey mozzarella cheese, plenty of Parmigiano Reggiano and fresh basil. As It is bakes, the cheese melts beautifully and forms lovely crust of cheese on top. Every bit is rich, cheesy, and full of flavor.
This dish is traditionally called gnocchi alla Sorrentina, and comes from Campania, a beautiful southern ragion of Italy.
My version is slightly different from the traditional gnocchi alla Sorrentina. I've added a small variation, which is the addition of nduja in the tomato sauce. As it cooks, the nduja melts completely into the sauce, adding rich, sweet, and spicy taste, that makes this dish even more irresistible.
What is Nduja?
Nduja is an Italian spreadable Italian salami from Calabria, a region in the southern of Italy. More specifically, it comes for the town of Spilinga.
It may look similar to Spanish sobrassada, however nduja is spicer and has a deep flavor.
It is made with 70% of pork meat, and 30% of Calabrian chili peppers. The mixture is stuffed into natural casing, and slowly smoked. Nduja is incredible versatile. You can spread it on bread, add it to pizza, o stir into pasta sauce for a spicy kick.
Ingredients for gnocchi al forno
- Gnocchi: Use store-bough potatoes gnocchi, If you want to cut time. You can also use homemade potato gnocchi. Alternatively, you can make my homemade gnocchetti Sardi. They are made with semola flour and water. Super easy to make.
- Olive oil: Olive oil is the base of the Italian cucine. Use extra virgin olive to make the tomatoes sauce. Buy the best olive oil you can afford.
- Garlic: I like to infuse the olive oil with garlic and basil before to add the tomatoes. This gives the sauce a depth of flavour. Once the garlic is golden, discard it. I like to use two garlic cloves for extra flavor boots.
- Herb: Fresh basil leaves is a must in this recipe. A little tricks that I like to use is to tear apart the leaves by hand and add it to the tomatoes puree. This way they realise more flavour. Always use fresh herbs, as they taste better that the dried ones.
- Nduja: Make sure to buy authentic and high quality nduja. Read the ingredients list, and look for pork meat, Calabrian chili, and salt.
- Tomatoes: Use high quality can of Italian San Marzano and good quality of Tomato puree passata. Before adding the San Marzano to the pan, crush them by hand. This gives the sauce a more rustic texture.
- Mozzarella cheese: Choose fresh Fior di latte Mozzarella or any good quality cow's milk mozzarella. For extra flavour you can also use smoked mozzarella or Bufalo once.
- Parmigiano Reggiano cheese: Add plenty of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for a salty umami flavour. It also helps to create a bubbly crusty on top.
How to make baked gnocchi al forno
- Step 1: Heat the olive oil in a large pan over low heat. Add the crushed garlic, and basil. Let the garlic and basil sauté slowly until it became fragrant.
- Step 2: Add the Nduja, and stir with a wooden spoon. Keep the heat low and cover the pan . Once the nduja has melted, add the crushed San Marzano and basil leaves. Stir well and simmer. Stir occasionally.
- Step 3: Add the tomato puree and stir well. Let the tomato passata simmer for 9-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once ready turn it off.
- Step 4: Preheat the oven. Cook the potato gnocchi in a large pot of salted boiled water. Drain the gnocchi and add them with the sauce. Add the mozzarella, basil, and Parmigiano Reggiano. Stir everything.
- Step 5: Transfer all in a casserole dish. Top the gnocchi al forno with the remaining mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano. Bake the gnocchi al forno for 20 minute. Until the mozzarella is perfectly melted.
Best pan for gnocchi al forno
There are different pans you can use to make this delicious baked gnocchi al forno.
You can definitely use the cast iron pan, if you own one. This way you can prepare the sauce and bake the gnocchi al forno straight into it. A pro, less washing up to do. The cooking time may be different.
Alternatively, you can use a frying pan, as I did. Start by sauté the tomato and then bake the gnocchi al forno into a casserole dish. If you want to serve them as single portion, you can bake the gnocchi into individual clay casserole dish. Just like you see in most Italian restaurant.
Tips for the baked gnocchi al forno
Crush the tomatoes by hand for a rustic sauce- For authentic baked gnocchi al forno crush the San Marzano Tomatoes by hand. This keeps the texture rustic. A blender can make the sauce too thin and may break the seeds. Which can release a slightly bitter flavor.
Choose authentic San Marzano tomatoes- The traditional baked gnocchi al forno is made using San Marzano tomatoes. They are lower in acidity and have a sweet and richer flavor. Look for DOP certification, this will guarantee its authenticity.
Don't hold back on fresh basil- Fresh basil can't be missed in here. I like to add some into the sauce and more on top before baking. Tear the basil leaves by hand rather than chopping them with a knife. This will preserve the flavour.
Cook the gnocchi just right- For the best baked gnocchi al forno, cook the gnocchi in plenty of salted boiling water. They are ready as soon as they float to the surface.
Mix the cheese into the sauce- One of my favorite is mixing some of the mozzarella and some Parmigiano Reggiano directly into the sauce. This create delicious pockets of gooey melted mozzarella hidden throughout the dish. It makes every bite extra rich and comforting.
Baked until golden and bubbling- Bake the gnocchi al forno until the mozzarella is melted, the Parmigiano forms a golden crust, and the edges are bubbling and slightly crisp.
More comfort Italian food recipes
Looking for more Italian comfort recipes like this? Try these:
What to serve with gnocchi al forno
These are my favorite dishes to serve with baked gnocchi al forno:
📖 Recipe
Gnocchi al forno
Equipment
- 1 Medium frying pan or sauce pan to cook the sauce
- 1 Wooden spoon to mix the sauce
- 1 medium baking tray or baking casserole to bake the gnocchi
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Garlic
- 50 gr Nduja ¼ cup
- 400 ml San Marzano tomatoes DOP in can 1 cup + ¼ cup
- 270 ml Tomato puree passata 1 cup
- 8 Fresh basil leaves
- 200 gr Fresh mozzarella cut into cubes 2 cups
- 30 gr Grated Parmigiano Reggiano 6 tbsp
- 800 gr Potatoes gnocchi 4 cup + ½ cups
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over low heat. Add the crushed garlic, and 5 basil leaves. Let the garlic and basil sauté slowly until it became fragrant, for 10 minutes.
- Add the Nduja, and stir with a wooden spoon. Keep the heat low and cover the pan with a lid to prevent the hot oil to splash around. Once the nduja has melted, after 1 minute, add the crushed San Marzano and basil leaves. Stir well and simmer for 8 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add the tomato puree and stir well. Let the tomato passata simmer for 9-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce is ready when it has thickened and is no longer watery. Taste and adjust the seasoning if need it. Turn it off.
- Preheat the oven at 180°c for fan oven; 200°c for conventional oven; 392°f fahrenheit; 6 gas mark. Cook the potato gnocchi in a large pot of salted boiled water. As soon as they float to the surface, drain them and add them in the pan. Add the mozzarella,(make sure to leave fews cubes for the top), basil, and Parmigiano Reggiano. Stir everything.
- Transfer all in a casserole dish. Top the gnocchi al forno with the remaining mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano and the remaining basil leaves. Bake the gnocchi al forno for 20 minute. Until the mozzarella is perfectly melted, a lovely cheese crust is formed on top and the sides are bubbling.
Notes
Store
- Fridge - Place them in an airtight container for about three days.
- Freezer - Once it has completely cooled, transfer the leftovers into small airtight containers and place them in the freezer. I like to divide the leftovers into smaller portions for easy, ready-to-eat servings. They will stay fresh for up to one month. When needed, defrost them in the fridge for 12 hours before reheating, then follow the instructions above.
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